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Wolmanization appears to me to be just a brand name of wood treatment. Wonder how much of the cost of that lumber goes to Dean Johnson?
In 2004, The EPA banned arsenic in the treating of Pressure Treated lumber. Since then, several manufactures have come out with alternative treatments for lumber. Womlanized is one of them. These treatments vary in their applicartions (Some are rated for decking, others for ground contact, etc)This page discusses the differnt treatments (click on the link "More Choices Than Before" thats in the article. )http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00127.asp Additionaly here is the Wolmanized home page that discusses it;s process:http://www.wolmanizedwood.com/overview.shtmlIn a nutshell, Wolmanized wood is treated wood. It's rated for decking applications. Is it better than a "treated" wood base for a spa? Well, that depends on what/how the base of the spa has been treated and the wood used. What Spa are you looking at? Knowing that, perhaps one of the dealers could give you specifics on the base.
First off, Wolmanized wood IS treated wood. In this case some company is branding the name for marketing purposes. And I seriously doubt that this process causes wood to twist, or the good folks at Wolman HQ would be up to their armpits in twisted wood complaints, lawsuits, and other fun stuff. Sounds to me like that Marquis dealer was engaging in the desperation mode sales tactic called "Bashing the competition", aka Negative Selling.
In fact, somebody should come up with a version which actually shocks the person doing the negative selling. Think of the 'hidden camera' possibilities for that one.
Chas, the same amount of satisfaction (and fun) could be had very simply...carry a small unit on your person, go into a spa store that you KNOW has a "reputation" for BSing....every time they come up with some rotten, low-down line of BS, press the button, and let it chime, quack, whatever......when the dealer asks you what the annoying noise is, tell him "it's my BS detector....I came here to be sure it works"